258: Chapter 255 Cai Li Fo

"Old Chen, can you even do it?" "Did you waste all your energy on women?" "You can't even beat a young guy?" A group of Chen Youcai's fellow countrymen from Guangdong Province and Hong Kong laughed and teased him.

Hearing this, Chen Youcai's Face flushed even redder. He definitely couldn't get angry at Li Changsheng, so he could only snap at the loudest one: "The floor is too slippery, I can't get any leverage."

Hearing this, everyone burst into laughter. This Old Chen really cared too much about his Face.

"Old Chen, if you can't do it, I'll take over!" Just then, a sturdy man from Guangdong Province, about thirty years old, stepped out. He took off his jacket, revealing a body full of toned muscle.

"Fine, you come then, but Master Li is very powerful!" Chen Youcai kindly warned.

"Powerful? Can he be as powerful as me?" The man scoffed, completely unconcerned, and immediately looked at Li Changsheng.

He saw the man place his left hand over his right, curling his right fist, rounding his arms, and performing a fist salute. With a serious expression, he said: "I am Lü Shu of the Guangdong Province Choy Li Fut style!"

Li Changsheng could understand their Cantonese exchange; after all, he had spent a few years in Guangdong Province, where subway announcements were broadcast in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English, and his company had several locals.

Seeing the other party being so solemn, he knew this was a challenge.

It is often said that the South pays more attention to etiquette, but regarding traditional martial arts, anyone with a lineage—whether from the North or South—places great importance on the old rules.

Unless they came from some martial arts gyms where training is generalized, making the master more like a teacher, they might overlook this. However, some traditional masters who value etiquette will still explain the rules in the very first lesson.

Etiquette is Martial Virtue!

The fist salute may seem inconspicuous, but those in the know understand its significance.

Especially in the eyes of an old Martial Master, if you do it correctly, it's a friendly sparring match; if you don't, don't blame them if they beat you to death.

In ancient times, there were two types of fist salutes for Martial Masters sparring. One was the right palm over left fist, and the other was the left palm over right fist.

The Dao De Jing states: 'The gentleman values the left in times of peace, but values the right in times of war.' This means that for auspicious events, the left is superior, and for funeral or violent events, the right is superior.

Therefore, the right palm over left fist implies a fight to the death, while the left palm over right fist is merely for sparring.

This is why if your movements were incorrect in the past, you really couldn't complain if you were beaten to death.

Curling the fingers and rounding the arms represents the five fingers pointing to the Five Lakes, and the four fingers of the right hand against the left palm representing the Four Seas. This embodies the Jianghu saying that the Martial Forest is one family, promoting humility, unity, and making friends through martial arts.

It also signifies not using bravery to cause chaos, not violating prohibitions with martial arts, and that the true meaning of 'martial' is to stop conflict, thereby restraining and controlling one's aggression.

"Xingyi, Baji Quan, Li Changsheng!" Li Changsheng performed the standard sparring fist salute. It was clear the other party didn't want a polite exchange; this was going to be a real physical confrontation.

Seeing Li Changsheng do this, Lü Shu understood and nodded inwardly. The person before him looked young, but he knew quite a bit about etiquette.

Hah! The moment Li Changsheng finished his salute and took his stance, Lü Shu let out an explosive shout. His thighs suddenly exerted force, and one could clearly see his muscles bulge instantly like an inflated balloon.

As he stomped his feet and charged, he moved like a projectile. As his muscles bulged, his Qi surged. In an instant, Lü Shu rushed over like autumn leaves swept by the wind, his fists forming claws—this was the Tiger Form of Choy Li Fut.

Choy Li Fut has beginner, intermediate, and Advanced training methods, and the Tiger Form is one of the Advanced techniques.

Because it was just a sparring match, his Tiger Form hands were merely aimed at grabbing Li Changsheng's shoulders.

With this claw attack, Lü Shu gathered all his energy and spirit. Li Changsheng could even see the man's waist and abdomen—like a snake coiling—contracting and expanding, as if a mass of Qi was violently surging upward, swelling into his chest cavity.

Then came another explosive shout, like the roar of a Tiger and the cry of a Dragon; his claws moved with the sound, incredibly swift and fierce.

Southern martial arts styles highly emphasize using sound to boost power and momentum. This is considered a clever method to concentrate strength, as if exhaling a single breath, allowing the punch's force to mirror that breath—imposing, unstoppable, and fully unleashed.

Before Lü Shu's hands even reached him, Li Changsheng felt a fierce gust of wind brush his Face, making him squint.

Some powerful martial artists can exhale the internal Qi they have trained along with their punch, strong enough to extinguish a candle flame several yards away. Lü Shu's breath was clearly lacking in refinement, but it was still enough to make an ordinary person's eyes sting and water.

However, Li Changsheng had already mastered Listening Energy. Although he hadn't reached the third level of Listening Energy, he could still distinguish falling leaves within three yards. While there was still a gap before reaching the level of 'the cicada senses the autumn wind before it moves,' his reaction speed was far beyond that of an ordinary person.

The moment Lü Shu made his move, Li Changsheng curled his right hand forward, his five fingers suddenly bending into a Tiger Form claw. Like a fierce tiger climbing a mountain, he lunged slightly upward and forward.

From a distance, it looked as if Lü Shu had thrown his hands right into Li Changsheng's grasp.

Li Changsheng's claws caught Lü Shu's elbow joints perfectly from below. Lü Shu was still moving with incredible speed and showed no signs of changing his move, clearly unaware of what had happened.

Seeing this, Li Changsheng shook his head inwardly, then hesitated no longer; he hooked upward and pulled.

Crack! Crack! A series of crisp bone sounds accompanied a muffled grunt as Lü Shu stumbled backward.

Looking at him again, his hands and arms hung limply at his sides like soft noodles.

It was a move using the 'Fierce Tiger Climbs Mountain' technique combined with a 'Spring-Plucking' force. By slightly rotating the opponent's wrist joint, he had, like a butterfly weaving through flowers, dislocated both the elbow and shoulder joints in one go.

Even though it was one of the two great killing moves of Baji Quan, the execution was so ingenious, as precise as a scalpel, causing consecutive dislocations with just a slight pull.

Lü Shu's Face turned pale. The sharpest pain of the dislocation had passed, but now his arms were powerless, and any attempt to use force would bring a wave of intense pain.

"This... Master Li... Master Li has great skill. Thank you for showing mercy, Master Li... I..."

After the pain and shame, Lü Shu realized that this was a hard truth of a massive gap in strength; this couldn't be explained away by mere carelessness.

He wanted to perform the fist salute, but his arms were like noodles and couldn't be lifted.

Li Changsheng stepped forward again, pulling, guiding, and patting with his hands, accompanied by another series of crisp sounds.

Lü Shu moved them slightly, then was pleasantly surprised.

"Master Li, your technique of stretching tendons and pulling bones is amazing! I admire you, I admire you! Powerful! Master Li, you are so powerful, I really like you!"

As he spoke, Lü Shu blurted out in Cantonese. Although he was expressing admiration, that last sentence sounded quite strange.

This is how martial artists are: if you aren't convinced, you settle it with fists and feet. If you are strong, you are praised; if you are weak, you are stepped on. There is nothing more to say.

"Hmm, remember to train your stance more." Li Changsheng nodded. This man had just lost because of his stance.

The saying goes: 'The hands are two doors, but everything depends on the feet to strike.' This is especially important for Choy Li Fut, because although Choy Li Fut looks like a fist-based style, it is actually similar to Mo Family Fist.

Although Choy Li Fut was created by combining the strengths of the Cai Family Fist, Li Family Fist, and Fo Family Fist, the dominant style is the Fo Family Fist. Fo Family Fist has eighteen types of leg techniques and fourteen types of footwork.

It is particularly skilled in leg techniques, emphasizing flexible and stable footwork, rapid and continuous movements, and tight offense and defense. This man's footwork just now was lacking.

Although his poor observation during the fight was a hard gap in strength, if his footwork had been exquisite, Li Changsheng would not have been able to find an opening so quickly.